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(SXSW) READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (2026) – the horror bride takes over SXSW

By. Radek Velicka

Published with permission. Original article is posted here. 

 

 

 

    When I gave the first Ready or Not a 9 out of 10, it was because it felt like almost ideal genre entertainment: a brilliantly constructed concept, sharp pacing, great ideas, wicked humor, and above all, a fantastic Samara Weaving in the role of a woman who transforms from a terrified bride into an unstoppable survivor over the course of a single night. The second film does not try to repeat the same trick. Instead, it immediately expands the world, the rules, and the scale of the whole game. That is both its greatest strength and, at the same time, its biggest weakness. READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME had the status of a world premiere and Headliner at SXSW, so from the beginning it did not feel like some side genre title quietly dropped into the lineup, but rather like one of the festival’s more prominent film events.

    The story picks up literally moments after the ending of the first film. After the bloody inferno outside the burning Le Domas mansion, Grace (Samara Weaving) ends up in the hospital, where she is visited by her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton). But instead of peace comes another round of nightmare. It turns out the original family was only part of a much larger system in which other wealthy and twisted clans fight for power. This time, Grace is not only fighting to survive, but also for the so-called High Seat, the power center of the entire hellish order.

    The film is once again directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, with a script by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, while the supporting cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood.

    The expansion of the mythology works surprisingly well. The sequel clearly wants to show that behind the original “hide-and-seek game” lies a much bigger and more depraved world, and in that respect, it succeeds. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Samara Weaving said that the first film was a bit of a gamble for everyone, but that it gradually grew into a cult favorite with an ever-expanding fan base and that is exactly what you can feel in the sequel. There are more rules, more players, and with them new caricature-like characters who often only get a few scenes, but work very well. Elijah Wood is especially in his element here and is absolutely terrific in that register, stealing every scene he is in.

    The new dynamic between Grace and her sister works just as well. Kathryn Newton’s Faith is cheeky, sexy, fun, and immediately feels like someone with her own history, temperament, and baggage. There is also solid chemistry between her and Samara Weaving, and their relationship is meant to be the emotional center of the sequel. At the same time, though, it is also where the film occasionally loses momentum for me.

    When the movie is running, killing, escaping, and inventing new twisted variations on human hunting, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME is hugely entertaining. But whenever it slows down to spend more time on the past, emotional grievances, or sisterly bickering, I found myself getting a little bored. Not because those ideas are badly written, but because with a film like this, I am naturally waiting for the next chase, the next trap, or the next absurdly brutal moment. That, to me, is the biggest difference from the first film, which was tighter, more direct, and almost never had a dead moment.

    That does not mean the sequel fails as a bloody attraction. Quite the opposite. Once again, we get several original gore scenes, some of the kills are excellent, and the finale is satisfyingly brutal. Still, this time I did not feel that every individual death or idea was so brilliant that it sent me into total delight. There is more of everything, but not necessarily more moments I would instantly rank among the highlights of the series. In that regard, I like the comparison from one Australian review, which described the first film as a perfectly aimed dagger, while the sequel is more like a bloody hammer: bigger, louder, and less precise.

    What is also interesting about the film is how much its perception is shaped by the way it was released. Under different circumstances, this kind of title could have easily ended up as a solid, noisy B-movie for genre fans. But here, thanks to its Headliner slot at SXSW, a heavily promoted star-studded cast, and the whole aura of a world premiere, it became a genuine event. Searchlight built the campaign not only around Samara Weaving’s return, but also around the new ensemble and a large, targeted promotional push, so it was obvious the studio wanted to launch a title people would be talking about. In that sense, the strategy worked.

    The festival screening itself also played a big part in my impression. A world premiere at an event like this may work even better than a regular theatrical screening. Every kill, every kick, every major action beat in the film was rewarded in the theater with laughter, applause, or excited cheering, almost like at a concert. In that kind of atmosphere, it is very easy to get carried away by the crowd, and the film rides purely on audience energy. That is exactly why movies like this can be a little harder to rate fairly: you know perfectly well that at home on a TV or in an ordinary anonymous multiplex, without a loud crowd and without that infectious collective joy over every explosion and every drop of blood, part of the effect may simply disappear.

    Maybe that is also why I was a little disappointed that Samara Weaving herself was absent from the premiere. According to reports from the screening, she did not attend because of her pregnancy, although the cast symbolically referenced her on site with masks featuring her face. It is a small detail, but also a reminder of just how much this series now rests on her. Ready or Not has gradually turned her into one of the defining faces of modern horror, not necessarily the biggest mainstream star of her generation, but certainly a powerful cult name for audiences who genuinely follow this kind of cinema.

    READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME is therefore a sequel that does exactly what you expect it to do: it expands the world, adds new players, raises the stakes, and delivers another dose of bloody satire. It is just not as fresh, as tight, or as inventive in every individual scene as the first film. Still, it remains a very entertaining genre piece with style, energy, a few excellent new characters, and a finale that holds nothing back in terms of the brutality it promises. If the first film was an almost ideal genre ride worthy of a 9 out of 10, the sequel is a little looser, but still a very solid follow-up.

For more articles from Radek Velicka, check out his Substack here.